6 Unexpected Ways Teeth Can Get Chipped

Your teeth are very durable, yet not invincible. Keeping their integrity will keep your teeth and mouth healthy, enabling you to smile with pride, speak clearly, and eat all the foods you like. Regular visits to your dentist and daily oral maintenance will help ensure dental health, yet there are some things you might be doing that might endanger your teeth.

Below are the unexpected ways teeth could get chipped:

1. Mindless Acts – You go throughout the day without thinking of the same mundane actions that you experience daily. Getting drinks at water fountains, contact from an accident or fall, and bumping into doors could result to chipped dentition. Paying attention will help you prevent such things from happening.

2. Using Teeth When Opening Packages – It’s what scissors are for. People who are using their teeth to tear into the packaging must think twice before doing it again.

3. Your Diet – Beverages and foods that are high in starch, sugar or are acidic could erode your dental enamel weakening the protective covering of your tooth. A tooth with weakened enamel may be damaged easily when eating harder or crunchy foods, which could result in a chipped tooth.

4. Chewing Ice – Regardless if you munch ice chips or on cubes, frozen water is hard and could either chip or break your teeth.

5. Biting Nails – This habit isn’t only dangerous for your teeth, yet you risk infection once jagged nails cut into the oral tissues. You may chip teeth and make a change in your bite through repositioning your jaw to bite the nails.

6. Teeth Grinding – A lot of people grind their teeth unconsciously. This is because it’s something often started subconsciously during some periods of sleep. Stress and anxiety are major factors, yet a malocclusion may also result to grinding.

Best Solutions to Consider

Any minor chip can be resolved through applying tooth colored resin that the dentist would apply artfully and trim to tooth’s natural contour. If the dental bonding isn’t enough option, your dentist might recommend dental veneers. A veneer is a tooth colored, thin shell that’s bonded to your tooth’s front requiring correction.

If your tooth’s chip is big and your tooth has weakened, the best possible solution is a dental crown. The tooth will be filed down, then an impression will be taken, and sent to a dental lab to be made. A temporary is given until final restoration will be delivered.

Once you experience tooth sensitivity, you schedule an appointment with Poff Dental Associates. Since enamel is translucent, if your tooth is discolored, this might be because of your dentin showing through because of enamel erosion.

It is important to floss and brush daily. Visit your dentist every 6 months for exam and cleaning. Your teeth are required to support you for life so do everything you could to maximize your overall oral health condition. If it is time to schedule your next dental cleaning or exam, contact Poff Dental Associates today!

About the Author: Dr. Justin Poff, DDS

Dr. Poff has been practicing dentistry since 2011. He received his dental degree from the University of Tennesse Health and Science Center. Dr. Poff is dedicated to excellence in dentistry and has committed to furthering his education to the topics of general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, short-term orthodontics, and implant dentistry.